Alkylation of thiourea

A comparatively large selection of thioureas can be formed from the reaction of amines with isothiocyanates, hence they are attractive starting materials for formation of guanidines. A common solution-phase approach to this reaction involves abstraction of the sulfur via a thiophillic metal salt, like mercuric chloride.10 For solid-phase syntheses, however, formation of insoluble heavy-metal sulfides can have undesirable effects on resin properties and on biological assays that may be performed on the product. A more relevant strategy, with respect to this chapter, is S-alkylation of thioureas and then reaction of the methyl carbamimidothioates formed (e.g., 5, Scheme 6) with amines. This type of process has been used extensively in solution-phase syntheses.1 Ul4 Two examples are shown in Scheme 6 11 the second is an intramolecular variant, which involves concomitant detrity-lation.15... 

Addition tube, 20, 21 Alanine, /3-(3,4-dihydroxyphenyl)-N-METHYL-, 22, 89, 91 Alcoholic hydrochloric acid, 22, 77, 83 standardization, 22, 80 Alcoholysis, 20, 67 Aldehyde synthesis, 20, 14 from acid chlorides by Rosenmund reaction, 21, 84, 87, 88, 110 Alkylation of thiourea, 22, 59 Alkylchlororesorcinols, 20, 59 Alkylene bromide, 20, 24 S-Alkylthiuronium halides, 22, 60 dl-ALLOTHREONINE, 20, 10 ... 

Alkoxy- and alkylthio-substituted aminothienopyrimidines 94 were prepared by cyclization of the corresponding isoureas and isothioureas 95. Isoureas are generated in situ from thiophenes 30 with cyanates in the presence of acids (1984INDP151496). Isothioureas are produced by alkylation of thioureas 33 (1991GEP287503). 

A key step in this synthesis is the cyclization of the thiazole ring by double alkylation of thiourea with 2,3-dichloropropionic acid (Scheme 7.22). Cyclization follows the preferred 5-exo-tet route, and the unstable intermediate undergoes fast aromatization triggered by hydrolysis and decarboxylation. 

Alkylation. Theoretical treatment by the CNDO method, and the analysis of orbital interactions, show a frontier orbital control for the S -methylation of MeNHC(S)NHMe. Kinetic measurements of the alkylation of thioureas with alkyl halides or tosylates have shown that this reaction is first-order in thiourea and alkylating agent, implying an 5 n2 mechanism, with direct attack by the sulphur atom. 

A better method involves the interaction of an alkyl bromide and thiourea to form an alkyl tso-thiourea, followed by hydrolysis of the latter with sodium hydroxide solution, for example ... 

Alkylation of the tetrahydropyridine, 52 (obtained by reaction of a suitable protected derivative of 4-piperidone followed by dehydration and deprotection), with chloroacetonitrile affords 53, Reduction of the cyano group gives the diamine (54). Reaction of this intermediate with the S-methyl ether of thiourea affords guancycline (55). 

A somewhat more complex side chain is incorporated by alkylation of the carbanion of the substituted cyanoacetate, 148, with 2-chloroethylmethyl sulfide. Condensation of the resulting cyanoester (149) with thiourea followed by hydrolysis of the resulting imine (150) affords methitural (151)... 

The reaction of 3-hydrazinophenanthro[9,10-e][l,2,4]triazine 742 with carbon disulfide, thiourea, phenyl isothiocyanate, urea, and phenyl isocyanate led [77ZN(B)569] to the formation of phenanthro[9,10-e][l,2,4]-triazolo[4,3-/j][l,2,4]triazines 743. Alkylation of 743 in aqueous alkaline... 

New organocatalysts prepared by the Jacobsen group showed that alkylation of the final amide bond increased the enantioselection (Scheme 38, compare R2 = Me, 98% ee to R2 = H, 91% ee). Thus, the reaction performed with N-allyl benzaldimine and with the dimethylamide-ending thiourea (Scheme 38 with Ri = R2 = Me) gave up to 99% ee. This compound is a structural analogue of the urea depicted in Scheme 36 [148,152,154]. 

As yet, a number of experiments have failed to convert ureas 205 such as N-phenylurea or imidazolin-2-one by silylation amination with excess amines R3NHR4 such as benzylamine or morpholine and excess HMDS 2 as well as equivalent amounts of NH4X (for X=C1, I) via the silylated intermediates 206 and 207 in one reaction step at 110-150°C into their corresponding guanidines 208 with formation of NH3 and HMDSO 7 [35] (Scheme 4.13). This failure is possibly due to the steric repulsion of the two neighbouring bulky trimethylsilyl groups in the assumed activated intermediate 207, which prevents the formation of 207 in the equilibrium with 206. Thus the two step Rathke-method, which demands the prior S-alkylation of 2-thioureas followed by amination with liberation of alkyl-mercaptans, will remain one of the standard syntheses of guanidines [21, 35a,b,c]. 

Reaction of nitrosothioureas with alkylamines gives TV-mono- or di-alkyl substituted thioureas (Scheme 53).135... 

At higher acidities the S-nitrosation reaction of thiourea leads to the formation of urea64 (equation 28) via, it is believed, the intermediate formation of the S-nitroso species. The reaction can also be brought about by nitrosamines or alkyl nitrites as the carriers of NO+. Reaction is thought to involve nucleophilic attack of the intermediate by water or the elimination of HSNO giving a carbodiimide, which is then hydrated. 

Thiopental Thiopental, 5-ethyl-5-(l-methylbutyl)2-thiobarbituric acid (1.2.10), is synthesized by the alkylation of ethyhnalonic ester with 2-bromopentane in the presence of sodium ethoxide. The product ethyl-(l-methylbutyl)malonic ester (1.2.9) undergoes hete-rocyclization with thiourea, using sodium ethoxide as a base [16,17]. 

To demonstrate the catalytic efficiency of thiourea 9 and urea 16 (each 10mol% loading), Friedel-Crafts alkylation of various aromatic and heteroaromatic substrates was performed at room temperature in toluene as well as under solvent-free conditions. The results for the products 1-7 shown in Scheme 6.6 revealed that in all cases the 9-catalyzed reactions gave higher yields. In toluene N-methylpyrroIe reacted smoothly to give the 2-substituted Friedel-Crafts adduct 1, while the adducts 3-5 and 7 formed slowly and required longer reaction times (72 h). The... 

Figure 6.46 (A) Hydroxy-protected thiourea 141 and 142 lacking the hydroxy function and their catalytic efficiency in the Friedel-Crafts alkylation of indole with frans-P-nitrostyrene (139 78% yield 85% ee under identical conditions). (B) Proposal for the key hydrogen-bonding interactions between 139 and the model substrates.

As mentioned earlier, the first example of the generation of a thiocarbonyl ylide by deprotonation of a thioxonium salt was reported by Knott (18) and is presented in Scheme 5.1. This method is frequently used since the starting materials 32 are easily available via alkylation of C=S functionalized compounds such as thioke-tones, thioamides, thiourea derivatives, and dithioesters (Scheme 5.11). 

The cadmium(II) complexes of thiourea and N-alkylthioureas (with alkyl groups methyl or ethyl) have been used as precursors for the preparation of TOPO-capped CdS nanoparticles (Fig. 14). The precursors are air-stable, easy to prepare and inexpensive. These compoimds decompose cleanly to give good-quality crystalline materials [122]. 

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